It's All in the Ears. The BIG Ears!

Making a comparison between an upcoming Little Brown Spider book and a Christmas classic.

What's in the box? An excited little girl and a puzzled spider.

My, Oh My, What Big Ears You Have!

The above image is a sketch from an upcoming Little Brown Spider book. I absolutely love this spread. The questioning look on the Little Brown Spider's face and his casual body position in contrast to Esther's excited entrance and her...big ears. Boy, what big ears she has!

And they're perfect!

A Christmas Classic. In Mouse Form.

When I first saw this image, I thought of one of my favorite Christmas specials growing up: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. A certifiable holiday classic, this Rankin/Bass production riffs on the poem of the same name. Two families star in it. One human family and one mouse family.

At 25-minutes long, it's a short show. It also has that oh-so-identifiable '70s Rankin/Bass style used in other productions like Frosty the Snowman. (Let's also call out the wonderful voice acting by Joel Grey and John McGiver in this one.)

One thing about the animation style used in these shows: the giant eyes and ears!

"Yes, Father...I wrote the letter." Anyone? Anyone?

Makes sense for the mice to have big ears since, well, mice have big ears. But look at the shells on those humans. Giant!

Such an identifiable animation style.

A Spider and a Mouse

I just thought about this. There's another connection between this holiday special and the book outside of the big ears. Didn't put it together until now. Funny how these things happen!

- DennisD.

SpiderWriter